The Empire Reborn
by Cordiers-Smith
Summary: This story takes place a little before the Yuzang Vong invasion, a couple of Lucas based characters make apperences, other than that, it's all of my own design.


Empire Reborn: Galactic Alliance.  
  
Chapter one: The Suljuk Graveyards.  
  
Captain Cythoss Arano stood at the bridge view port of the Mon Calamari class star cruiser Democracy His sea-gray eyes scanned the black abyss of space, countless hulls of blackened and burnt out ships littered the emptiness. He sighed and ran his fingers through his gleaming gray hair.  
  
Shivers ran up and down his spine, the fears of his former life died hard, he had been a smuggler before he joined New Republic, imperial blockade and war crimes had forced him to join up with the Republic, in a time of crises the Rebellion was glad to have him as a pilot.  
  
His eyes shifted nervously through the darkness, the Suljuk Graveyards had always been a name of ill omen among the groups of smugglers and mercenaries, too many ships had gone down, it just wasn't...normal. Sure there were ship graveyards here and there, remnants of ancient battles. But nothing on this scale, literally thousands of ships, imperial, republican, private, all different sizes and classes, from dreadnaughts to fighters.  
  
He sighed deeply, it was his utmost hope that the Democracy wouldn't be the latest addition to the graveyard. He turned to his first mate, a Twilik female who had locked the bridge crew in her scrutinizing stare. "Lieutenant Kor, would you please give me the give me the orders." Tallia Kor turned those painfully scrutinizing liquid blue eyes towards Captain Cythoss. "Aye Captain." She handed him a small diskette, it had the Republic's seal of authentication on it. "It is decoded I trust?" "Aye Captain."  
  
Cythoss let a smile creep to his face, Tallia was a wonderful first mate, she had initiative, endurance and she could handle pressure like a Rancor.  
  
"Very good, I shall be in my quarters, do not fail to contact me if anything comes up."  
  
Cythoss popped the diskette into the drive system, a small blue hologram flickered on. The hologram fizzled and crackled, it shifted into the image of Grand Admiral Ackbar, the Mon Calamari who had fearlessly lead the Alliance to victory during the battle of Endor.  
  
"Greetings from the New Republic Captain Arano, perhaps you are wondering why we have sent such a qualified Starship commander to such an desolate corner of our galaxy."  
  
The image sputtered. "To get down to business Captain, we've have sent you here to investigate several remnant operations in this area, do not be startled, we have not sent an under equipped ship. The Democracy is more than proficient to defeat any opposition you may find here. But again, down to business, several imperial mining operations have been detected in the area, we know this on account of a shuttle communiqué via a imp pilot who is begging us to let him defect, that is one of the reasons you are here. You will rendezvous with the shuttle pilot at the provided co ordinance. Now here's the tricky part Captain, the shuttle is picking up the debris salvaged from several ships in this area and transporting it back to an asteroid base. The problem is that the shuttle's copilot is fanatically imperial, we need you to make it look like your boarding the shuttle and removing them of there supplies. Why you ask going through all this trouble for just one imp pilot, well, he knows all the access codes to their shield generator, if they find out he's defected, they'll change them immediately. Capture the shuttle, destroy the contents, get the access code and the send the two pilots back to Coruscant, both as prisoners. After that, we need you to proceed to the imperial base and level it, that is all. Ackbar out."  
  
The image fizzled and disappeared, Cythoss took the chip in one hand and crushed it. The chip shattered into several pieces, he let them drop to the floor. "A defection," he said to no one in particular, "that will be the first time I've attempted one of those." He sighed and looked out his bedroom view port, he looked out upon the many turbolaser batteries of the Democracy, he had been hoping for somthing a bit more exciting than picking up imp defectors and blasting asteroid bases, the fact that they were all located in the Suljuk Graveyards didn't help his attitude. 


End file.
